Amusement pneumatic machine gun



C. A. FELTMAN AMUSEMENT PNEUMATIC MACHINE GUN Aug. 6, 1957 Filed Jan.28, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. CHARLES H. FfLT/ZQN m J ,RTTOP/V-EYv lll llllll mun-Il- Aug. 6, 1957 C. A. FELTMAN AMUSEMENT PNEUMATICMACHINE GUN 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 28, 1955 HTTOE/VE? United StatesPatent AMUSEMENT PNEUMATIC MACHINE GUN Charles A. Feltman, New York, N.Y.

Application January 28, 1955, Serial No. 484,608

4 Claims. (Cl. 124-11) My present invention relates to amusementpneumatic machine guns of the type in which. a succession of bullets,such as' BB shot, are propelled through the barrel of the gun bycompressed air.

In guns of the above type the shot are supplied in succession from amagazine tube to a slot in a sliding plunger which is driven bycompressed air into alignment with and between the loading end of thegun barrel and a compressed air tube so that the air propels the bulletinto and through the gun barrel. Then the slide is returned by a springto its original position to receive another bullet. This is repeatedautomatically until the supply of bullets is exhausted. The feedingmechanism is controlled by an inlet and exhaust valve which is operatedby the plunger to admit air when the plunger is in starting position andto exhaust it at the finish of its stroke.

Jamming sometimes occurs due to a premature starting of the feed slidein its return movement so that a bullet would be caught between theslide and the inlet to the gun barrel before it had completely clearedthe slide. When this occurs it requires partial dismantling to removethe bullet. My present invention provides a mechanism which obviates theabove risk of jamming and ensures accurate alignment of the feed slotwith the gun barrel and sufficient time for firing the bullet before thereturn of the feed slide.

In my invention this accuracy and certainty of operation is obtained byproviding notches on the rock shaft of the control valve. The notchesengage a pair of latches, one latch being engaged to hold the rock shaftwhen the feed slide is in firing position and released when the slidereaches loading position, and the other latch engaging the notch whenthe feed plunger is in loading position and released when it reachesfiring position. The positions of the latches may be shifted so as toadjust very accurately the position of the plunger at which they will beengaged so that the plunger may be manually adjusted to ensure properfiring position.

The various features of my invention are illustrated, by way of example,in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an amusement pneumatic machine gun embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the loading and firing block and of themechanism for rotating the inlet and exhaust valve;

Fig. 3 is a view on the opposite side of the feeding block showing thenotched rock shaft or cam and the engaging latches;

Fig. 4 is a detail side view of one of the latches;

Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section of the working elements of the gun taken online 66 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 7 is a transverse vertical view taken from the right of Fig. 6.

In the embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings, theinvention is shown as applied to a machine 3 ice gun having a barrel 10,a stock 11, firing block 12 and compressed air supply tube 13.

As shown more particularly in Figs. 1 and 6, the gun is provided with amagazine tube or conduit 14 into which a supply of shot or bullets maybe poured. This magazine tube is of a size so that the bullets will bealigned in single succession and the feed end terminates in a valveblock 15. The valve block 15 contains a slide 16 which is normallypressed out by a coil spring 17 confined between the valve block and ahead 18. The slide 16 may be forced inwardly against the action of thespring 16 by pressure applied to the head 18 to bring a slot 19 intoalignment with the magazine passage or tube 14 and a feed opening 20 toenable the shot or bullets to be poured into the magazine tube. Whenpressure on the head 18 is released the slide is forced outwardly toclose the passage into the magazine tube. A groove 21 in the slideengages a screw 22 to prevent rotation or misalignment of the slide.

A column of bullets thus supplied to the magazine tube may be rolled bypointing the gun downwardly until they reach a feed slide 23 in aloading block 24 mounted on the firing block 12.

The magazine 14 has a curved part, as indicated at 25, so that thebullets in advance of this part will tend to roll into the loading block24 and the slide 23. Air pressure may be supplied back of the bulletsfrom a supply tube 26 through a passage 27 at the end of the conduit 14.

Air supplied through the compressed air tube 13 enters a passage orconduit 28 in a pneumatically controlled block 29 and is received in avalve chamber 30. Flow of air from the chamber 30 to a conduit 31leading to the air supply tube 26 is controlled by a slidable valve 32having a valve stem 33 projecting out of the block 24. The valve 32 isnormally held closed by a coil spring 34 confined between block 24 and ahead 35 on the valve stem. It may be pressed inwardly to open the valveby means of a trigger 36. When the valve 32 is opened air flows freelythrough conduit 31 into the supply tube 26.

From the supply tube 26, which continues into the block 24, air is alsosupplied through a branch conduit 37 and through a rotatable inlet valve38 to the lower end of a cylinder 39 formed within the block 29. Airadmitted into the lower end of the cylinder 39 forces upwardly a pistonor plunger 46 carrying a stem 41 into engagement with the lower end ofthe slide 23 which is normally resiliently pressed downwardly by meansof a spring 42 encircling the lower end of the slide and confinedbetween a head 43 thereon and a recess 44 in the block 24.

In the position of the piston shown in Pig. 6 a slot 45 in the slide 23is in position to receive one bullet from the magazine tube 14. As thepiston 40 forces the slide upwardly the slot 45 is brought into positionbetween the inlet end of a gun barrel 46 and the end of the air supplytube 26, whereupon air from the tube 26 blows the bullet into andthrough the gun barrel. Thereafter the valve 38 is turned a quarter turnto close the passage 37 and to open an exhaust passage 46 to atmosphere.This releases pressure from below the piston 40 whereupon the spring 42pushes the slide 23 and the piston 40 downwardly until the slot 45 isbrought into alignment with the end of the magazine tube 14. The slide23 is kept from rotation about its axis by means of a screw stem 47engaging a slot in the slide.

The valve 38 is given a snap action rotation of in each direction bymeans of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2.

As shown in Fig. 2 the valve 38 would be in its open position, admittingcompressed air to the cylinder 39 below the piston 40. The end of thevalve 38 projects through and out of the housing 29 and is squared onits projecting end to receive an operating lever 48 which rotates aquarter turn with the valve. It is held with spring tension in its lowerposition against a stop 49 by means of a tension spring 50 secured atone end to a pin 51 on the lever 48 and to a pin 52 on a bracket 53mounted on a pin 54 fixed on the piston 40 and extending sidewisethrough a slot 55 in the block 29. When the piston 40 is forced upwardlyit carries with it the pin 54, the bracket 53 and the pin 52. As the pin52 is carried upwardly it first tensions the spring 50 and after thespring passes above the center of the valve it draws the lever 48upwardly upon release of a holding latch described below swinging itthrough an arc of 90 thereby rotating the valve 33 to open the valve andclose the exhaust. This action tends to hold the valve 38 openthroughout most of the upper passage of the piston 40 and closed duringthe downward passage. However, exact positioning of the control valve isnot attainable with this mechanism.

To hold the valve 38 either in open or closed position throughout adefinite stroke of the piston, the notch and latch mechanism of Fig. 3is provided. In this mechanism the end of the valve 38 projects throughthe opposite side of the housing and on the projecting end is fixedlymounted a disc 56 having a pair of notches 57 and 58, these notchesbeing arranged to be alternately in the position shown in Fig. 3, or ina position at right angles thereto. An upper latch 59 is pivotallymounted on a pin 60 so as to tilt downwardly to bring a catch 61 intoengagement with the notch 58 and thereby to hold valve 38 in openposition.

The valve is held in open position until a pin 62 projecting sidewisefrom the piston 40 through a slot 63 in the block 29 is lifted upwardlyby the piston until it engages the lower edge of the latch 59 andreleases the notch 58. Thereupon the spring 50 will snap the valve toclose the inlet and open the exhaust outlet. The valve 38 and valve disc56 is, therefore, rotated counterclockwise 90" until the notch 57engages a tooth or projection 64 on a lower latch 65 which is pivoted ona pivot 66. The valve is thereupon held in this position until thepiston descends under the action of the spring 42 and a withdrawingspring 67 secured at one end to the bracket 53 and at the other end to apin 68 projecting from the block 29. Thus the valve is rotated and helduntil each latch is in turn released.

The particular position of the piston, and accordingly of the slide 23at which the valve is released to reverse the movement of the piston andslide, is controlled by the position of the pivot pins 6! and 66. Inorder to attain a very fine adjustment at this position each of thesepins is eccentrically mounted as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, that is, thepin 60 for example which forms the pivot of the latch 59, is rotatableon and eccentric to a supporting screw 67' against which it may betightened or loosened before adjustment of the pin 60. By loosening thescrew and rotating the pin 60 on the supporting pin 67 the pivotalcenter may be raised or lowered or pivoted to the catch 61 and thusdetermine the exact position of rotation of the valve 56. The pivot maythereupon be tightened in this position by screwing the screw 67 tightlyonto retaining washers 68'.

Through the above mechanism, therefore, the movement of the slide 23 maybe adjusted at any time so that if jamming should tend to occur it maybe corrected by suitable adjustment of the pivot 60. It may be notedthat the lever 68 is mounted in the magazine supply tube 14 in positionto be lifted by a supply of bullets. When lifted it lifts a lever 69 onthe outside of the block 24 which in turn lifts a latch 70 pivoted onthe block 29. When the latch 70 is lifted the lever 48 is free to swing.When, however, the supply of bullets is exhausted the lever 68 dropscausing the lever 69 to drop and lower the lach 70 so that it engagesand holds the lever 48 preventing further action of the gun.

Having described my invention, What I claim is:

1. A pneumatic machine gun which comprises a barrel, a compressed airconduit having a delivery opening aligned with said barrel, a magazinetube for shot having a delivery opening displaced from the deliveryopening of said compressed air delivery opening and said barrel, afeeding slide slidable transversely of said openings and having apassage to receive individual shot from said magazine tube, an actuatingpiston aligned with said slide and movable by compressed air from saidair conduit to engage and move said slide to bring said passage fromcharging alignment with said magazine delivery opening to firingalignment with said compressed air delivery opening and said barrel, avalve movable in one direction to open communication from saidcompressed air conduit to said piston to move said slide from chargingto firing position and in the opposite directon to exhaust air from saidpiston, a notched cam fixed to and rotatable with said valve, a pair ofspring pressed pivoted latches positioned to engage and hold said camwhen said valve is moved to open and to exhaust positions respectively,each said latch having a pivot adjustable to control the angle ofengagement with said cam and a stop carried by said piston andpositioned to engage one of said latches when said slide is in chargingposition and to engage the other latch when said slide is in firingposition.

2. The pneumatic machine gun of claim 1 in which said pivots for saidlatches are eccentrically mounted and adjustable on a supporting pin.

3. The pneumatic machine gun'of claim 1 having a spring to return saidslide to charging position.

4. The pneumatic machine gun of claim 1 in which said stop is a pinprojecting from said piston.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

